Dr. Catherine Cepeda, MD

I typically don’t leave reviews, but this hurtful experience with Dr. Cepeda warrants honest feedback. The day prior to my 9:15 AM annual visit a couple days ago, the office called me to confirm my appointment. I asked the person how many patients were booked before me so I can better plan my work schedule. I was told there was only one patient ahead of me at 9am and I should be out no later than 10am. I arrived at 9am and was placed in a room fairly quickly, where I then waited nearly an hour undressed in the paper gown. I opened the door to check what was going on and the attendant down the hall told me Dr. Cepeda was running late and had not arrived at the office. I told her I would unfortunately have to leave as I needed to get to work for a meeting. No more than 5 minutes later I walked out the room and I saw Dr. Cepeda at the desk chatting and laughing with the lady that told me she wasn’t there and another nurse. There had been no communication to patients about the delay,… nor any acknowledgment of the time we had been waiting. When I approached her and explained that I had to leave, she stated that she had “just arrived” and gestured toward other rooms she needed to attend to. I respectfully referenced the prior day’s scheduling conversation and that I was told only 1 patient was before me at 9am and asked her if she could see me. At that point, I was met with a dismissive tone from staff who told me they had 3 other patients in front of me and - most unexpectedly, a visible shoulder shrug and “there’s nothing I can do” from Dr. Cepeda. What troubled me most was not simply the delay — medical offices run behind at times. It was the lack of accountability, empathy, or professionalism. Being left waiting in a vulnerable state for nearly an hour, only to receive a dismissive response, felt disrespectful and surprisingly impersonal. As patients, we arrange our work schedules and responsibilities to attend appointments. Basic communication, courtesy, and acknowledgment of delays should not be too much to expect. Dr. Cepeda’s lack of professionalism was startling. This would have been my 2nd (maybe 3rd) annual visit with her. I will not return and have to find a new doctor. No patient should be faced with this type of dismissive lack of care. I hope this feedback encourages a greater awareness of how patient interactions are handled moving forward.

Dr. Cepeda is very young and inexperienced. I do not recommend going to her. I brought her a CT report of my ovaries to interpret. The report said I had a mass showing a “neoplastic process” . She told me and my daughter that “neoplastic process” meant cancer. She said “I know it is very hard to hear”. I later consulted other specialists who were surprised she said that without a biopsy and I was advised that the majority of these tumors were benign and that “neoplastic process” just meant abnormal growth and could be benign or not. I had my surgery and the tumor was in fact benign. I could have saved all the suffering if I hadn’t seen her. She needs to be more careful telling someone they have cancer without being sure!